Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@lachlanhardy

lachlanhardy/speaking-notes.md

Created August 30, 2015 20:15
Show Gist options
  • Star 0 You must be signed in to star a gist
  • Fork 0 You must be signed in to fork a gist
  • Save lachlanhardy/a13cdc9dcd95faf95158 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save lachlanhardy/a13cdc9dcd95faf95158 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Download ZIP
Raw
speaking-notes.md

Objectives -Why talk?

  • define subject area
  • identify topics
  • align topics on timeline (12 months?)
  • break topic into bullet points
  • write pitch/proposal
  • identify opportunities
  • internal company talk
  • meetup / presentation evening
  • regional conference
  • global conference

Deliver supplementary content

  • blogposts
  • tweet on topic
  • videos

Tactics

  • Network
  • Stalk known experts
  • what conferences do they go to? Where and how do they deliver content?
  • promote related content
  • SpeakerDeck
  • great place to post your old talks (or talks you haven't given yet!)
  • interview conference organisers

CFP newsletters

  • Weekly CFP
  • Callback Women
  • Technically Speaking

What's in a talk proposal?

  • outline (with timing)
  • title & abstract
  • description
  • in detail for organisers
  • a general overview to use in promotion
  • keywords to summarise
  • speaker bio
  • answer the questions below

How people review proposals

  • what is the talk about?
  • what are the takeways for the audience (3-5)?
  • what is the audience experience level?
  • does it have enough relevance for the audience?
  • will it fit the allotted time frame?
  • does this person have a enough points to cover?
  • would I want to see this talk?

Talk types:

Content

  • Big Picture
  • Technical
  • About a technique
  • Technology/tool specific
  • Process
  • Culture

Process

  • single presenter
  • 2 presenters
  • panel
  • live coding
  • demo

Presenting

  • colors are often faded on projectors
  • color contrast is vital
  • use slab-serif or sans-serif
  • use full screen imagery
  • limit text to the essentials
  • don't read the text
  • don't look at the screen
  • talk to the audience
  • text should be bigger than you think
  • each 'slide' should have a focus
  • pay attention to your presentation 'tics'
  • practise your body language
  • rehearse in front of a mirror and friends
  • jokes are fine; if you're funny (are you funny in this culture and environment?)

Questions

  • Always repeat the question (even if only to give you time to think)
  • Statements should be ignored.
  • If you don't know:
  • acknowledge the question
  • ask the audience? (may not always be appropriate)
  • promise to find out the answer
  • ask them to share contact details after the session so you can followup

Tools

  • keynote
  • powerpoint
  • PDF
  • Deckset (.md)
  • Prezi

Utilities

  • check screen ratio (3:4 or 9:16?)
  • clicker
  • laser
  • adapters
  • do you need video/audio?
  • disable notifications in OS preferences
  • is the slide deck needed beforehand? What format?
  • can you use your own machine?
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment